How to Plant Beans With Proper Spacing

Plant pole bean seeds at the base of a support teepee or single pole.

Proper spacing of bean plants is important for maximum bean yields and ease of care and picking. Bush beans form mounds almost as wide as they are tall, with beans produced within the canopy of the plants. When planted too closely, bush bean plants are spindly and produce fewer beans. Pole beans fit into a vertical gardening scheme, growing upward as twiners. Spacing of pole bean seeds depends to some extent upon the type of support system used for the bean vines.

Bush Beans

1

Push bean seeds into prepared soil 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. Beans planted in soils that dry out quickly need the deeper planting depth. Firm soil over each bean seed with your finger. Use a gloved finger to push beans into the ground just past your first knuckle, or use a piece of dowel rod marked at the proper depth for planting. If you choose to use a dowel rod, place additional markings on the stick at 2 and 3 inches, or 4 and 5 inches if planting lima beans. Use these markings to check your seed spacing.

2

3

Locate bean rows 18 to 36 inches apart. Bush beans grow to a height of 1 to 3 feet and a width of 1 to 2 feet. Check labels for growth characteristics of specific cultivars and space rows so the bush bean canopy does not meet in the alley between rows to facilitate picking beans.

Pole Beans

1

Place 4 to 6 bean seeds 3 inches apart at the base of a teepee or single pole. Push the seeds into the ground to a depth of approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Space seeds 3 inches apart along the base of a linear trellis.

2

Locate teepees or single pole supports every 3 feet in the row. Cut off the tips of the terminal vines when they reach the tops of the supports to encourage lateral branching.

3

Space rows 3 to 4 feet apart.

Things You Will Need

Gloves

1/2-inch dowel rod 6 inches long

Tip

Construct a pole bean trellis with 2-inch by 2-inch stakes placed every 15 to 20 feet along the bean row. Stakes should be 5 to 6 feet tall after insertion into the ground. Stretch 10 to 12 gauge wire along the tops of the stakes and fasten with nails or brads. Run a thinner wire 6 inches from the ground and attach to the stakes. Tie twine at one end of the top wire. Pull the twine down to the bottom wire and loop it over the wire before pulling it back up to the top wire, forming a "V." Continue in this pattern for the length of the trellis. Make a second row of Vs by starting at the end of the bottom wire and making Vs that crisscross the first set of Vs, forming a twine lattice.

About the Author

For Judy Kilpatrick, gardening is the best mental health therapy of all. Combining her interests in both of these fields, Kilpatrick is a professional flower grower and a practicing, licensed mental health therapist. A graduate of East Carolina University, Kilpatrick writes for national and regional publications.